Umar Zameer's lawyer has 'serious misgivings' about upcoming report into police conduct
CBC
The lawyer representing Umar Zameer, a man cleared in the death of a Toronto police officer two years ago, says he has "serious misgivings" about an upcoming report into the conduct of several officers involved in the case.
Nader Hasan says in a statement that neither he nor his client will have seen the report prepared by Ontario Provincial Police before it is made public, nor has anyone from the OPP contacted them about the investigation.
Zameer was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Det.-Const. Jeffrey Northrup, a plainclothes officer who was fatally run over by a vehicle in an underground parking garage at Toronto City Hall in July 2021.
The trial focused on whether Zameer meant to run over Northrup, or even realized it had happened, and whether he knew the constable and his partner were police officers. Zameer testified he thought his family was being ambushed by criminals when two strangers ran over and started banging on his car.
In her final instructions to the jury, Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy told them to consider the possibility that three officers who served as the prosecution's key witnesses had colluded.
All three had the same incorrect memory that Northrup was standing in a laneway with his arms outstretched when he was struck, she said.
Zameer was found not guilty in April 2024, and Molloy apologized to him for what he had been through.
The next day, Toronto police announced they had asked OPP to conduct an independent review in light of the judge's "adverse comments."
Police said last week they had received the report and would review it and brief "affected individuals" about the findings before releasing it.
Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said Monday the report will be released this week, with more details on the timing expected in the coming days.
"The OPP has extensive experience conducting complex investigations across Ontario and was well positioned to carry out a thorough and impartial review," she said in an email.
"Given the public interest in this matter, the report will be released in full."
OPP did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
In his statement, Hasan said turning to provincial police for the investigation was "a curious choice."
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